I have always liked to have a natural appearance when it comes to wearing make-up but as I've gotten older and towards my mid-thirties I've noticed my face is not looking it's best anymore. My skin looks dull, crinkled, more papery and my pores look large. Redness shows up more easily as do blemishes and scars. Wintertime is worse for me too as my face looks very pale and blotchy since I have light freckles. I was recently feeling a bit depressed about all of this when through the post I got a sample of Garnier B.B cream. The brand sent me three little sachets of what they call their 'Miracle Skin Perfector.

I didn't really look at my free gift too closely and just put the sachets into my make-up bag. I thought the product was a kind of foundation and I don't use foundation all that much because it's too heavy. Eventually I opened up a packet and decided to try the B.B cream. After I applied it to my face I was really quite shocked and excited about how much of an improvement it was to my skin. I therefore quickly used up the samples and went about buying a tube of the cream!

Prior to using this product I'd never heard of B.B creams. The initials stand for Blemish Balm and the cream is designed to provide a "healthy glow" and ease away any imperfections of your skin. It promises to help with any of the skin problems I mentioned above including dullness, wrinkles and redness as well as sunspots.

I bought a 50ml tube of the cream and it cost me £7.99. It comes boxed with lots of useful information on the box and printed on the tube itself. It's really handy to have this information given that the actual aim of the product might be confusing to some people. Is it a moisturiser? Is it a balm? Is it a foundation? Is it a protective agent? Well, it's kind of all of these things. Garnier call it a "hybrid formula" which combines "skincare with mineral pigments". Garnier say this cream "evens tone and boosts glow", "blurs imperfections", reduces lines, gives moisturisation for up to 24 hours and provides sun protection at SPF 15.

The product looks like a foundation but when you feel it really is more like a tinted moisturiser. It is caucasian skin coloured and comes in different shades. I have the lightest shade called 'light'. When I looked at the colour of it initially I thought it was quite dark in comparison to my skin colour but once I'd worked it into my skin the shade suited me perfectly.

The cream is designed for both the face and neck area. It's very easy to apply to the skin. I dab it in specks then work it in. As it is coloured I need to make sure that I evenly distribute the cream. This is easy to do and I am never left with any streaks.

Garnier say the cream has "illuminating properties" and this is obvious after applying because my skin looks healthy and warm. The cream does not award too much colour to the skin nor does it make you look orange and too made up. Infact it creates a very natural slightly sunkissed look.

I love the way the cream is able to even up every colour on my skin so that things like red marks and white scars are hidden. The colour is also great because I have quite dark eye circles and this cream helps the skin away from the eye socket to look less ghostly. I look healthier and fresher overall.

The pores around my nose are quite stretched but using this cream makes them look smaller and not as noticable. However, the cream isn't heavy or thick - it feels invisible on the skin.

After using the B.B cream I am able to apply my normal make-up which includes concealer around my eyes and pressed powder finish. However, I also just like to apply the B.B cream bare. I feel totally confident after applying the cream and I don't even feel the need to use concealer in places where I normally do such as scars and red areas.

When I have read the information on the box for the B.B cream I see that they have a chart saying the recommended age use for this product. They have set this at late thirties. I am 33 and this cream is perfect for me at this stage of my life. It's gives me a great improvement in my appearance and I use this product daily. I would recommend to anyone over 30 who has imperfect, ageing skin. To me, this really is a miracle cream.

www.garnier.com